250 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO Brier Hill, was built in 1847 a short distance up river from the Eagle. These furnaces may be said to be the real beginning of Youngstown's modern iron and steel industry. Native ore was still used, but the substitution of coal for charcoal largely increased the furnace capacity. In 1846, a firm known as the Youngstown Iron Company was organized, which built a rolling mill in the flat between Front Street and the river, southeast of the Public Square. The original stockholders are worthy of mention, as they may be regarded as the pioneers in the valley in the production of finished iron. They were Henry Manning, William Rice, Henry Heasley, Hugh B. Wick, Henry Wick, Junior, Caleb B. Wick, Paul Wick, James Dangerfield, Harvey Fuller, Robert W. Tayler, Isaac Powers and James McEwen. This mill was taken over in 1855 by four men from New Castle, Pennsylvania; Joseph H. Brown, William Bonnell, Richard Brown and Thomas Brown, who used the firm name of Brown, Bonnell and Company. The working plant consisted of "four puddling furnaces, two heating furnaces, one annealing furnace, eight nail machines, one muck train (a mill rolling bar iron), nail plate mill and a ten-inch bar train (or mill)." This plant is important as one of the constituent parts of the present Republic Steel Corporation, and is still known locally as the "Brown Bonnell Mill." Thus it will be seen that Youngstown was fairly launched in the iron business before the Civil War. Other manufacturing enterprises of local importance which may be mentioned are : a flour mill built of stone at the foot of Lantermain Falls on Mill Creek, an axe factory in the same valley, a tannery operated by John E. Woodbridge, and the first grist mill built by the Baldwins on the Mahoning River. All of these, however, were unimportant except as a source of local supply. Almost from the beginning Youngstown was thinking in terms of iron. HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 251 The schools of Youngstown do not seem to have arrived as early as those of Warren at the stage of pretensions to higher education.- The log school on the Diamond was the only building used for public education in the village. A contract to teach school in 1818 is sufficiently interesting to be quoted in full : "This article, between the undersigned subscribers of the one part, and Jabez P. Manning of the other, witnesseth, That said Manning doth, on his part, engage to teach a school at the schoolhouse near the center of Youngstown for the term of one quarter, wherein he engages to teach reading, writing, arithmetic and English grammar; and, furthermore, that the school shall be opened at nine o'clock, A. M., and closed at four P. M., on each day of the week (Saturday and Sunday excepted), and on Saturday to be opened at nine and closed at twelve o'clock, Am M. (doubtless noon). And we, the subscribers, on our part, individually engage to pay unto the said Manning one dollar and 75/100 for each and every scholar we subscribe, at the end of the term; and we furthermore engage to furnish or to bear the necessary expense of furnishing wood and all other things necessary for the use of the school. "Furthermore we do engage that unless, by the sixth day of April of the present year, the number of scholars subscribed amount to thirty-five, that the said Manning is in no way obligated by this article. "Furthermore, we allow the said Manning the privilege of receiving five scholars more than are here specified. "J. P. MANNING." "Youngstown, March 31, 1818. "Subscribers' names and number of scholars: "George Tod, three; John E. Woodbridge, four; Homer Hine, two; Henry Wick, two; Philip Stambaugh, one and one-half ; Samuel Vaill, two; Robert Kyle, two; George Hardman, 252 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO one; James Davidson, two; Polly Chapman, one; Jerry Tibbits, three and one-half; John F. Townsend, two; Henry Manning, one; William Bell, one; Jonathan Smith, one; Moses Crawford, one; William Cleland, one and one-half; Margaret Murdock, one; William Potter, two; William Rayen, one and one-half; William Morris, one; Noah Chamberlain, one; Richard Young, one-half; James Duncan, one; Mrs. McCullough, one-half; Byram Baldwin, one-half. Total forty and one-half." What was meant by one-half of a "scholar" may be rather puzzling to the reader. It seems to have indicated the time spent in school by the pupil either on account of extreme youth or the fact that the pupil was needed at home for part of the day, the half scholar attended either in the morning or the afternoon. One way or another the little log schoolhouse must have been quite crowded at times. Manning's remuneration, it will be seen, amounted to seventy dollars and eighty-seven and a half cents for the three months term—a fair wage for school teachers in those days. In 1826, Youngstown Township was divided into school districts, of which the territory surrounding the village was District No. 1. From this time on, the progress of education in Youngstown continued in the same haphazard fashion common to most of Ohio in these early days. An additional building was constructed on the southwest corner of the square in 1823. This was a more pretentious edifice than the old log schoolhouse, being of frame construction, and two stories in height. It was locally known as the "Academy," and doubtless its male teachers were dignified by the name of "professor," although only the so-called "common branches" were ever taught there until 1838. At this time a teacher named Parret introduced the teaching of Latin and Algebra. In 1840 another building was constructed at the corner of Front and Phelps Streets. This was the beginning of the HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 253 old Front Street School. The first frame building was later replaced by a large brick building, in which many leading citizens of Youngstown received their elementary education. This old building has now also gone. Its site is included in the space covered by the present Federal Building. The first organization of a regular school board in Youngstown took place in 1850, when William Travis came into the Youngstown system. Travis persuaded the citizens of Youngstown to comply with the legislative enactment providing for the organization of a union school organization. The first trustees elected under this plan were Henry Manning, Doctor Theodatus Garlick, William J. Edwards, Wilson S. Thorn, Jesse Baldwin and A. D. Jacobs. These were all representative citizens of good character, and the result was the beginning of a good school system, which has continued to improve ever since. The first staff under this new system were Samuel F. Cooper, Superintendent; his wife, Mrs. M. J. Cooper, high school teacher; Rev. W. S. Gray, principal of the secondary school; and four teachers, Miss Alice Kirk, Miss Upson, Miss Eliza Powers and Miss Huldah Holcomb. The salaries were, per annum : superintendent, five hundred dollars; grammar school principal, three hundred dollars; high school assistant, one hundred and sixty dollars; primary teachers, one hundred and forty dollars. Youngstown's old First Presbyterian Church inhabited the log building on the hill during the pastorate of Reverend William Wick, and several successors; John Core, Enoch Bouton and Nathan Harned. In 1830 the Reverend Ward Stafford undertook the pastorate. For some time the congregation had been planning the erection of a new building. A brick structure was commenced at the corner of Wood and Champion streets, but was soon abandoned, as it was considered unsafe. Finally, in 1831, a frame church was built 254 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO on Federal Street between Champion and Walnut. The picture of the building which has been preserved shows it to have been an attractive structure of the New England type, with pillars in front, green shutters on white walls, and a fine fan light in the front gable. It lacked the tall spire characteristic of its type, but otherwise conforms to the New England standards. Following Reverend Stafford the Reverend Charles Boardman occupied the pulpit until 1855, which brings us to the end of the period covered in this chapter. The Methodist Episcopal congregation also flourished in Youngstown. In 1828, they built a brick building on the corner of Phelps and Front streets, the site still occupied by the Trinity Church. This brick building was replaced by one of frame, which housed the congregation until 1861. The first Protestant Episcopal Church was organized at the center of Boardman Township about 1809. This was the only Episcopal congregation in the county until 1859, when a church was organized in Youngstown. The Boardman church has continued to this day, a prosperous institution. The Disciples of Christ came into Youngstown in 1841, using the old academy building as their first meeting place. There were twenty-seven original members of this congregation. A small congregation of the Methodist Protestant Church was organized in 1841 in Youngstown, known as the "Brown Church." Several leading citizens belonged to this congregation among others, Philip Kimmel, Abraham Powers, Jona Stout and Wilson Thorn. This congregation never grew to large proportions in early years. The '40s saw the beginning of the invasion of the Mahoning Valley by the group of Welsh and English immigrants who have been such an important element in the population of the valley since. Two Welsh congregations were organized HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 255 during these early years. The Welsh Baptist Church was formed in 1846 in the Brier Hill neighborhood. The original members were old miners in the Brier Hill coal mines. Their descendants have since risen to places of importance in the city. The Welsh Congregationalists also began to hold meetings in the same neighborhood, but did not build a church until 1861. In this year they purchased a site on Elm Street between Wood and Rayen, a site they still occupy. This practically covers the list of church organizations in Youngstown up to the Civil War period. In the year 1848 the citizens of Youngstown decided to apply to the legislature for a village charter. The organization of the village was effected in 1850. The original village boundaries were the Mahoning River, Crab Creek, and a line somewhere about the modern Spring Street line. The first election under the new charter was held on June 15, 1850. The first officers were as follows : John Heiner, Mayor; Robert W. Tayler, Recorder; John Loughridge, Abraham D. Jacobs, Francis Barclay, Stephen F. Furnett and Manuel Hamilton, Trustees. Poland Village, settled at about the same time as Youngstown, during the early years of the nineteenth century grew with some rapidity. Under the leadership of the Kirtland, Fowler, Arrel and other families, it bade fair to rival Youngstown as a center of population. The main road from Pittsburgh ran through the village, and its beautiful location made it an attractive spot for a night's halt of the many travelers who took this historic road to the Reserve. Around it grew up a prosperous and progressive farming population, which has furnished to the nation a large number of citizens prominent in other fields. But, as the years went by, and it became evident that the growth of business enterprise must necessarily cling to the river banks, Poland gracefully withdrew from competition, and developed into what it is now, 256 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO a quiet and delightful residence village, to which more and more people retire every year to enjoy the happiness of suburban life. Poland's old Presbyterian Church, second to the First Church of Youngstown in age, prospered as the years grew by. The old graveyard, with its six Revolutionary soldiers, grew full,and was succeeded by a newer and more beautiful cemetery on the right bank of Yellow Creek, at the north border of the village. The Presbyterian Church has remained prosperous and progressive to this day. Only one other religious denomination has ever entered Poland. In 1832 a Methodist Episcopal congregation was established, which was to have the honor of numbering among its members a future President of the United States. In about the year 1848, William McKinley, Senior, moved with his family from Niles to Poland, and from that time until the end of the Civil War the Methodist Church was the religious home of his illustrious son. Poland has an especial claim to distinction as the seat of Mahoning County's earliest school which aimed at something more than common school training. In 1832 the Reverend Bradley opened a select school to teach the classics. He was succeeded by John Lynch, who operated the seminary for about ten years. It was revived in 1848 by a young college man, Benjamin F. Lee. A three-story building was constructed a few years later, under the auspices of the Methodist Church, and finally, in 1862, the two churches united to put the institution on a permanent basis, as the Poland Union Seminary. We may anticipate by saying that the institution continued until well into the twentieth century, until it was absorbed into the present village high school. Canfield, like Poland, in its early years was a rival to Youngstown, and, like Poland also, was left behind by the industrial development in the valley. Canfield, however, had HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 257 the distinction of being the seat of government of Mahoning County at the time of county's formation. Canfield in 1846 had been a prosperous settlement for forty-eight years, the date of its earliest settlement being 1798. There were four churches in the village, Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Disciple and German Reformed. In 1849 Canfield applied for incorporation papers, and was organized as a village, with L. L. Bostwick as the first Mayor. The old courthouse building still stands on the village square, but has long since ceased to function in its original capacity. Possibly the most interesting of Canfield's early institutions is the Mahoning County Fair. The Mahoning County Agricultural Society was organized in 1847. The original officers of this ancient institution are worthy of mention : Judge Eben Newton, President; Jacob Cook, Vice-President; Silas C. Clark, Secretary; William Little, Treasurer; Joseph Wright, David Hanna, Jacob Baird, Asa Baldwin and Joseph Cowden, Managers. The first fair of the society was held in October of 1847, and the institution has continued ever since, growing in popularity as the years go by, until now it has become a meeting place for the entire citizenry of the county each year. The attendance in recent years has been known to exceed twenty thousand a day. Coitsville Township, a quiet neighborhood of prosperous farmers, must be remembered as the boyhood home of William H. McGuffey, the famous editor of McGuffey's Readers. The McGuffey family came into Coitsville about 1800, from Washington County, Pennsylvania, where William had been born in 177. His boyhood and youth were spent in Coitsville. He received his education at Miami University, and was licensed to preach as a Presbyterian minister, but devoted his whole Life to the cause of education, rising to be President of Miami University. His permanent fame, however, rests in the McGuffey Readers, which were read in nearly every American 258 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO school for many years, and formed the basis of the literary taste of Nineteenth Century America. The sole remaining trace of the McGuffey family in Coitsville now is the McGuffey Road, which leads out from Youngstown to the heart of the township. Along this road the McGuffeys lived in the early days of the Reserve. (Note.—The writer's old friend, the Hon. James Kennedy former member of Congress from the 18th District, used to express his wonderment that no school in Youngstown had commemorated the McGuffey name. He once called my attention to the fact that the East High School in Youngstown is little more than a stone's throw from the old McGuffey home. He regarded this as a curious oversight on the part of the local authorities.) The other townships in the northern two tiers of Mahoning County developed during early years in peace, and with little history. Each in its way grew in prosperity, but in a work covering the territory which we have to cover, little space can be given to their early years. We have mentioned the Episcopal Church at Boardman. This township remained a farming community until suburban Youngstown began to extend southward, not always for Boardman's good. We might mention an early settlement of "Covenanters," or members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, who early moved into Jackson Township, under the leadership of the Gault and Ewing families. Austintown was another peaceful farming settlement which has recently been invaded by suburban developments. The history of the five southern townships of Mahoning County belongs to the Columbiana County records until 1846, and will be taken up in that chapter. There remains to be told in this chapter the story of the formation of Mahoning County. HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 259 The old argument about the Trumbull County seat, which had been violent in the early years of the county, began to rise in virulence again about 1840, when the old courthouse et Warren began to tumble down, and a new one seemed necessary. Various projects for the moving of the county seat, or the creation of new counties were proposed. Certain enterprising citizens of Newton Falls proposed the making of three counties; one from the southern ten townships of Ashtabula and the northern five of Trumbull, with the addition, for some reason, of Vernon; another from the remaining townships of Trumbull in the first three ranges; the third from the western part of Trumbull and the five eastern townships of Portage. Their proposal included the abandonment of Warren as a county seat, and the substitution of Youngstown on the east and of Newton Falls on the west. Another proposal, this from Youngstown, was to divide Trumbull into two counties, with Youngstown as the southern county seat. This was being considered, when the citizens of Canfield came forward with another proposition, to take the ten southern townships of Trumbull and the five northern of Columbiana and make a county of them, with Canfield as the county seat. This proposition was especially pleasing to the Warren people, as it retained the Trumbull county seat at Warren and struck a blow at Youngstown. The influence of both groups of advocates were sufficient to persuade the legislature, and in 1846 this plan was confirmed, the new county being named, as was natural, "Mahoning." How this plan resulted in the '70's in the "stealing" of the county seat, will be noted later. CHAPTER V ASHTABULA COUNTY Ashtabula County was formally organized on January 22, 1811. The first officers were : Presiding Judge, Benjamin Ruggles; Associate Judges, Aaron Wheeler, Ebenezer Hew-ins, Soloman Griswold; Treasurer, David Hendry; Recorder, James A. Harper; County Clerk, Timothy R. Hawley; Sher-riff, Nathan Strong. The seat of government was at Jefferson. The first courthouse was a plain building, two stories in height, forty feet long by thirty wide, built of brick manufactured on the spot. The lower story was one room, to be used as a court room, while two rooms divided the upper story with a center hall between. One of these rooms was for juries, the other for county officers. There was no inside stairway. Those who wanted to reach the upper floor had to go outside where a stair was attached to the side of the building. This courthouse was completed in 1811, by a Mr. Caldwell. A proper introduction to the history of early Ashtabula County may be found in a description of ordinary life in the county, by Miss Betsy Cowles, who wrote a series of articles for the "Ashtabula News," shortly before her death in 1876. "A new country, free from conventionalities, seems about the only place in which the social element can be fully enjoyed. These people came together as neighbors, in the full meaning of that term. First, the Sunday meetings gave ample scope for visiting, coming together in the morning at - 260 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 261 ten o'clock, separating at three in the afternoon. Who could help spending that hour in social intercourse? (Note.—The noon hour. The morning service lasted from ten to twelve; the afternoon, from one to three. Between services the congregation ate their lunches in the churchyard, or inside the church in bad weather.) They talked of what pertained to local interest—of the news from old Connecticut, the political upheavals from old Europe, Bonaparte and the allied powers, or the Indian wars. Men found ample time for gossip; the young folks walked into the woods and picked wintergreens, and the woman gathered in circles and groups. The social gatherings during the week were of a very friendly character. The women would gather at some house, usually going on horseback, two on a horse. Their dress was a checked apron, on the head a plain white cap, with a black ribbon over the frill; their gown was a chintz, brought from old Connecticut. Each one carried a work-bag, and no time was lost from work. Whatever was to be done in the family could be done while visiting—darning stockings, mending trousers and making shirts. The horses lazily dozed at the hitching-post and gave an occasional stamp, caused by a vicious fly, while the women visited through the long afternoon. At four o'clock the tea-kettle is suspended over the blazing fire in the fireplace and the short-cake is baked in a spider. The cross-legged table is drawn out from the wall, a brown cloth is spread over it, a small piece of butter is placed in the middle of the table, and a dish of sauce by the side of it, composed of wild plums or cranberries sweetened with maple sugar. There is put at each place a spoon and knife. Supper ready, the guests stand reverently while the host asks a blessing; then seated, each one helps herself to butter with her own knife, and to sauce with her own spoon out of a common dish. Such a thing as a plate for each one was unusual. Even for breakfast the meat and potatoes were 262 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO cut in morsels and fried together, then served in a dish set in the middle of the table, and all, supplied with a fork, would proceed to stab the morsels from the platter and to help themselves from a common dish. "In the winter the visiting was generally during the long evenings. One man would take his oxen and sled and call for each neighbor between his home and the place of rendezvous. Here a pile of logs aglow, thoroughly warming the one room of the house and lighting it more brilliantly than half a dozen gas-jets could do awaited their arrival. "A social evening is spent with refreshments consisting of nuts, pop-corn and maybe doughnuts. The clock hanging against the wall strikes the hour of nine, the orthodox hour of retiring, and the company disperse. Every family in the country was clothed in home made cloth. The wool had been carded during the summer, the mother had taken it to the mill herself, the huge sack which contains it being strapped to the rear of the saddle, and in some cases rises as high as the head of the rider. With a baby in her arms and five or six colts following or capering ahead, with two or three dogs lolling with their open mouths, she, amid a cloud of dust, would make her way to the mill. Every house was a place where she was welcome to stop and take tea with the family, and rest herself and little one. Having arrived at home, the garments for the household were made of the same material which her hands had prepared from the time the wool came off from the sheep's back. In some cases the clothing of men was still more primitive than this." Another reporter says that men's trousers, when made of buckskin, were likely to be so tight after a rain that it was almost impossible to get them off. Miss Betsy Cowles, author of the above sketch, was a most valuable citizen of Ashtabula County. She was a lifelong resident, and spent her entire active life in the school- HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 263 teaching profession at Austinburg, Massillon, Canton, Bloomington, Illinois, and Painesville. She was one of the most active participants in the abolition movement. She had the added pleasant quality of a fine singing voice. She, with her sister, Miss Cornelia, used to sing duets at abolition meetings, Miss Cornelia singing the soprano part and Miss Betsy the alto. The whole life of the Cowles sisters was one of community service, and certainly entitles them to this brief mention, which is in no way commensurate with their excellence of character. Perhaps more than any other of the Reserve counties Ashtabula preserved the New England atmosphere. Not until the business of iron ore shipping from the Lake Superior mines developed after the Civil War did any settlement in the county grow beyond the village class. Then, as we shall see, the cities of Ashtabula and Conneaut began to take positions of commercial importance. The increase in population of the county was slow: in 1820, 7,369; in 1830, 14,584 ; in 1840, 23,724 ; in 1850, 31,789. Farming was the principal, in fact, nearly the only industry before the Civil War, and farming is still the principal industry, except for the lake ports. The villages, farm houses, churches, in fact the whole country-side, then and now resemble greatly the New England atmosphere in which nearly all the early settlers grew up. Ashtabula County was as strongly influenced by its New England origin in religion as in anything else. The churches of the county were all either Congregational or Presbyterian until the Nineteenth Century had nearly reached its first quarter. The great Congregational missionary, Joseph Badger, as we have mentioned in several places, was the pioneer in this field in religion, and his influence long outlasted his actual presence. In 1814 a separate Presbytery of the Congregational Church was organized in the Reserve, called the 264 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO Presbytery of Grand River. The list of Congregational churches in Ashtabula County, with the dates of their organization, is as follows: Austinburg, 1801 ; West Williamsfield, 1816; West Andover, 1818; Geneva, 1818; Morgan, 1819; Conneaut, 1819; Monroe, 1829; Wayne, 1832; Andover Center, 1832; Williamsfield Center, 1839; Lenox, 1845; Saybrook, 1847; Pierpont, 1849; Jefferson, 1850; Ashtabula, 1860. The separation of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches was probably complete about 1841. Before this date, in varying degrees, the two denominations were united in organization. Ashtabula County was from the early part of the century strongly abolition in sentiment. That section of the Underground Railroad which had its point of concentration for starting had two termini in Ashtabula County, Ashtabula and Conneaut Harbors. The county was first strongly Federalist, then Whig, then Republican, a political complexion which it still retains. Ashtabula even gave an overwhelming majority to John Quincy Adams in the election of 1828, when Ohio departed from her Whiggery to give a majority and her electoral vote to Andrew Jackson. When the Whig Party began to break up into the Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings, etc., Ashtabula was one of those anti-slavery strongholds which helped greatly to form out of this chaotic condition the Republican Party. In June, 1832, an Anti-Slavery Society was formed. The officers are worthy of record : Amos Fisk, president; O. K. Hawley, vice-president; A. E. Austin, recording secretary, From this central organization local branches grew out. To show the nature of the sentiment of the county, we quote a few of fifteen resolutions adopted in Hortsgrove at a meeting held in 1850 : "Resolved, That we hold the fugitive slave law in utter contempt, as being no law, and pledge ourselves to despise HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 265 the conduct of the makers of it for their utter destitution of principle, as well as for their reckless violation of the constitution of these states, which they were sworn to support; "Resolved, That sooner than submit to such odious laws we will see the Union dissolved, sooner than see slavery perpetual we would see war, and sooner than be slaves we will fight! "Resolved, That Herod made a law in regard to male children; John Bull made a law in reference to the American colonies, and, meanest of all, Congress made a law in reference to fugitive slaves, a law to strip us of our humanity, to divest us of all claim to Christianity and self-respect, and herd us with blood-hounds and men stealers, upon penalty of reducing our children to starvation and nakedness. Cursed be said law "Resolved, That we will not aid in catching the fugitive, but will feed and protect him with all the means within our power, and that we pledge our sympathy and property for the relief of any person in our midst who may suffer any penalties for an honorable opposition or a failure to comply with the requirements of this law." This, it will be seen, was open defiance of the law. But the makers of the resolution rested secure in their confidence that no court could be found with jurisdiction over Ashtabula County in which a conviction could be obtained against a violator of the odious law. It will be noticed that the expression of the resolution favors division rather than the continuation of slavery. This sentiment toward a division of the Union was to be found all over northeastern Ohio, and had its natural result in sending to Congress such men as Wade, who, by the fierceness of their anti-slavery sentiment, became sometimes as much of a trouble to President Lincoln in his efforts to save the Union, as the active enemies in the Confederacy. 266 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO This anti-slavery sentiment was so strong that the county furnished a rendezvous and a place to gather supplies, at West Andover, to John Brown and his lieutenants, before the attack on Harper's Ferry. After the catastrophe two of John Brown's sons, Owen and John, Junior, came back to Andover, where the local inhabitants protected them. They even went so far as to organize a secret society, known as the "Blackstrings," from the little bow of black string or ribbon which they wore, tied in the collar, as a badge. This society was first organized to protect the Brown brothers, but soon began to grow to national proportions, before its usefulness ended with the coming of the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment. Although the abolitionists are dead and slavery has long been abolished from the land, this movement has had its after effect in the fact that this corner of the state, devoted to the Republican Party at the time of its origin, as the party opposed to slavery, has remained Republican ever since, so much so that it is a difficult thing to elect even a Democratic county officer in these counties. Even the "New Deal" has not succeeded in overcoming this Republican sentiment. The history of the Ashtabula press is interesting. The Ashtabula Recorder, the first newspaper in the county, was begun in 1823 by Asa W. W. Hickox and John A. Hickox, in a little brown building on Main Street in Ashtabula. The Recorder suffered various vicissitudes for four years or so, and then died. It was a little paper of four pages, twelve by eighteen inches in size. One item from its pages, an advertisement, might be copied here, as showing the peculiar humor of the age : "What drunkard has lost his jug? A jug containing whiskey and lying exposed in the middle of the road, called the North Ridge, leading west from this village, was picked up by the subscriber. The owner is desired to prove HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 267 property, and take it from the printing-office at Ashtabula, where it is lodged for safe keeping. "Matt Hubbard, "Ashtabula, September 16, 1824." The "Recorder" was inoffensive and rather ineffectual, however, in most of its publication and died little regretted. The "Recorder" was succeeded in 1826 by the "Western Journal." This newspaper was founded by R. W. Griswold. The "Journal" came into the hands of Hugh Lowery in 1828. Lowery continued the paper until about 1831, when his health failed, and he gave it up, selling the property to people in Conneaut, or Salem, as it was then called. The "Ashtabula Sentinel" is perhaps the most interesting of the newspapers of the county. It was founded in Ashtabula Village in 1832, and the first editor was O. H. Fitch. The original owners operated it for a few years, and after some changes it became the property, first of Parkman and Fassett, and afterwards of Henry Fassett alone. Different members of the Fassett family published the "Sentinel" for many years. In 1852 the "Sentinel" was sold to a partnership of men in Jefferson, called J. L. Oliver and Company. The interesting fact about this firm is that the "Company" was William Cooper Howells, who made for himself a distinguished name in American journalism, and was the father of still more distinguished sons. William Cooper Howells was born in 1807 in a little village named Hay, in Wales. He was one year old when his parents emigrated to America. The Howells' family landed at New York, and for a little while lived on the Hudson, then moved to London County, Virginia, and came to Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1813. Young Howells had little formal education but was well tutored by both father and mother, so that he acquired a 268 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO knowledge of books and science. He went into the newspaper business early, starting a paper in Wheeling, West Virginia, at about the time he became of age. His first ventures were not particularly successful, but in 1831 he did succeed in finding a wife in the person of Mary Dean, a Columbiana County girl, born in New Lisbon. Howells moved around over Ohio for years, working in St. Clairsville, Mount Pleasant and Chillicothe until in 1840, the great Harrison year, he bought the Hamilton (Ohio) Intelligencer. In 1848, his Free-Soil leanings induced him to sell the Intelligencer and purchase the Dayton Transcript, a paper more suited to his political leanings. This move proved a failure, and he moved on to Columbus to work on the Ohio State Journal. He still had one move to make. In 1852 he was persuaded to come to Ashtabula, which as an abolition center was attractive to him, and join with the Fassett family in publishing the "Ashtabula Sentinel." In January, 1853, he and James L. Oliver moved the "Sentinel" to Jefferson, where he and it remained. However, in later years, he entered into politics, serving as state senator in the Ohio Legislature which ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, and after the war receiving an appointment as United States consul to Quebec. Two of his sons became famous: Joseph A. Howells, who succeeded his father as editor of the "Sentinel," and made of it a model among country newspapers famed far beyond the limits of its ordinary circulation, and William Dean Howells, a novelist and editor of international fame. Of them more hereafter. One other journalistic enterprise before the Civil War is worthy of record, because of its melancholy vicissitudes. The path of the country editor, wherever he operated, seems to have been a hard one in this early western country. O. H. HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 269 Knapp, of Conneaut, in 1832 bought the rusty equipment of the defunct "Ashtabula Recorder," and moved it to his own town, which at that time still bore the name of Salem. Knapp started the "Salem Advertiser," which in 1834 became the "Conneaut Gazette." In 1835 Knapp took a partner, S. F. Taylor, who bought out Knapp the following year. Taylor sold out the same year, bought the paper again in 1838, and on May 29, 1841, published the following mournful editorial : "To Printers.—The press and materials in the office of the `Gazettee' are offered for sale. If anyone wishes to go on here, he may try the experiment. The circulation falls but little short of six hundred, and the advertising and job work is fair. A printer can make money if he can get his pay from those who are abundantly able to pay. Unless the establishment is disposed of before that time (which is not very probable) the publication of the 'Gazette' will be suspended, or, to use a stronger term, discontinued, on the 12th day of June. There is one condition, however, on which it may go on. If my patrons, who owe me at least twelve hundred dollars, will pay one-third in cash they may protract its existence. I am not going to work longer without pay, nor am I going to do much longer without pay for what I have done." This one man "strike" went into effect on schedule, but a new firm, Allen and Tait, took up the management in September. The next year Taylor came back, but the paper was dying, and in 1843 it finally passed away for good. Another newspaper, the "Reporter," took its place, and also struggled on, reaching prosperity after the Civil War. Our ancestors loved their newspapers, but the modern seeker after- historical truth is likely to wish that they had given more space to local items, and less to foreign news and speeches made in Congress. The editor in those days seems to have acted on the theory that there was no particular reason 270 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO for printing in the paper what everyone already knew. It may have been good psychology then, but it leaves these early papers singularly void of useful information now. Ashtabula organized a County Agricultural Society in 1823. The officers were : President, Nehemiah King; Vice Presidents, Eliphalet Austin and Edward Fiefield ; Corresponding Secretary, Matthew Hubbard; Recording Secretary, Jonathan Warner; Auditor, Joab Austin; Treasurer, Timothy R. Hawley. This society held a cattle show and fair at Austinburg in October, 1823. The next fair was at Austinburg, the third at Ashtabula, the fourth at Jefferson, and then for fifteen years they did not meet again. In 1842 the fair was revived. The exhibit was located at the courthouse in Jefferson; dairy products in the hall, domestic goods in the court-room, and live animals in a vacant lot outside. An item of importance in connection with this fair is that first prize for cheese went to Abel Krum, of Cherry Valley, and second to James Stone. This is a foreshadowing of the great dairy business which was to grow up in Ashtabula County in later years. We must discuss for a little while the various settlements of the county. In the Williams History of Ashtabula County, printed in 1878, is an interesting picture of Ashtabula Village at two periods : "The year 1812 and the year 1837 present different views of the town to our vision. The first was the age of loghouses. The forests were still covering the land. Roads were only paths broken through the wilderness. The harbor is a mere opening into the creek. Three little hamlets are scattered about at different points in the township, at either side of the river, and at its mouth. Log taverns are standing in these villages, and the blazing fireplace, with the whiskey toddy and a rough, hearty welcome from the landlord, form attrac- HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 271 tions peculiar to the time. On the east side, about one mile from the lake, was a log tavern, kept by Gideon Leet. There is a farm on the bank of the river, belonging to Anan Harmon. Towards the lake, on the same side, there are two or three loghouses and one or two frame barns. A log schoolhouse has been built near the Public Square, and meetings are held there. On the west side is the house of Hall Smith. On the opposite side is a frame store—the store of the place. Mr. Smith's farm is situated on both sides of Lake Street, and extends as far as Division Street and toward the lake beyond the present site of the Lake Shore Railroad. A burying ground has been given on the brow of the hill on the east side of Main Street, opposite the intersection of Lake Street. . . . On Lake Street towards the depot is situated the Badger house. . . . The Fisk property is situated south of Division Street. . . . West of Fisk farm is property belong to Matthew Hubbard. A road, which is now Main Street, runs along the edge of the bluff, and underneath the bluff is a small grist mill. . . . There is at that time but one frame house on Bunker Hill, that belonging to Matthew Hubbard. That built by Deacon Amos Fisk was standing on Main Street. . . . With the exception of these few there are no frame houses in the township. There is not a church building in the place, and scarcely a schoolhouse. A log building has been erected on Bunker Hill, and Miss Lucy Badger is teaching the school. Other log schoolhouses situated in different localities in the midst of the woods. The only road to the harbor is also upon the east side. The land towards the west, in the neighborhood of where Centre Street now is, was a dense swamp, so wet as to be almost impassable. From Prospect Street to the depot the woods were thick and massive, mainly grown up to hemlocks. It was but a little hamlet and rudely constructed. On the bluffs certain men lived by 272 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO hunting. Women go to church on horseback. Children sit on slab-benches at school, and the houses are primitive. It is an era of loghouses, maple sugar and homespun. "We pass now over a period of twenty-five years. This brings us to the year 1837, another epoch in the history of the township. During this period great progress has been made in the country at large, and especially in the west. We now find that canals have been opened in different parts of the country. Navigation has increased both upon the Ohio and upon the inland lakes. The harbors have been improved. Steamboats have been introduced, one built at this port. Sail vessels are traversing the lakes. Railroads have been projected. In this county a turnpike has been built. Ashtabula has become a point of considerable importance. It is even talked of as a prospective city. The railroad projected to the Ohio River is to be called the Liverpool Road, and Ashtabula Harbor is to be called Manchester. Thus in the woods of Ohio we are to have a second Manchester and Liverpool. . . ." . . . We are living now in the time of brick houses, have not reached the period of stone fronts or iron palaces. . . . The framed houses that were built along the streets of Ashtabula Villiage contain many happy homes. The village at this time (1837) consisted of Main Street, Prospect Street, Lake Street, Division Street and the various roads that lead out of town. The North and South squares are laid out. The cemetery is in the rear of the present site of the schoolhouses. Prospect Street is extended in a straight line to Lake Street. . . . A turnpike passes through Main Street, crosses the river by a bridge at the same place. There are stores scattered along Main Street in various places. The Ashtabula House is fifty feet in the rear of the same place where it is now. The Fisk House is in existence. It was occupied by the family of Amos Fisk, and is a brick building, but has not been used as a hotel. There is a row of stores, one story high, corner HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO - 273 of Main and Spring streets, called Mechanic's Row. There are several stores on Main Street between North and South Park, and residences extend up Main Street toward Bunker Hill. The village is very small." Of course the "now" of the above account means 1878. The reader of 1935 may be interested in trying to locate the present sites of these early landmarks. The growth of Ashtabula Village, it will be seen, was slow. The usual grist mill, sawmill and tannery came into existence early. In 1817 Matthew Hubbard erected a sawmill and a carding-mill. The Ashtabula Mills, for the manufacture of flour were put in operation about 1840 by E. Harmon. This was a large building built of cobble stones, with equipment for both water power and steam. A little later a foundry was opened by Reuben Tower, who sold it to J. B. Crosby in 1848. In 1850 the Phoenix Foundry was erected by the firm of Oshill and Chapin. This foundry changed hands several times, until about 1870 it became the property of the firm of Seymour, Strong and Sperry. The working of iron and steel was never a leading business in Ashtabula. A business which began early in the history of the village was the building of sailing vessels. Joseph Badger, the great missionary, is said to have been the first man to do any work toward removing the sand bar by which the harbor was closed to early navigators. He found it necessary to dig away the sand in order to get his little vessel into the creek, in 1801. No real attempt at improving the harbor was made, however, until 1824, when the Ashtabula Harbor Company was incorporated. In 1826 the Federal Congress appropriated $12,000 for harbor improvement, and Matthew Hubbard was appointed superintendent. A dike was constructed, and a pier built of timber cribs filled with stone. In 1827 two more piers were begun, which by 1833 had been extended in parallel lines to a distance of one thousand two 274 - HISTORY OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO hundred and eighty-four feet, with a channel between one hundred and forty-five feet wide. The channel was deepened to nine feet. From this time on the harbor continued to be improved. The total appropriations for harbor improvements to 1859 was sixty-one thousand seven hundred and forty-six dollars. The records show the construction of forty sailing vessels at Ashtabula before 1860. Most of these were of the schooner class. Some disaster occurred, as, for instance, the capsizing of the schooner Superior at her launching in 1818: This was a case of "rocking the boat." The launching was to be a day of celebration, and a group of jolly young people were on the deck amusing themselves. Some young men had climbed into the rigging, when suddenly the vessel capsized, and the whole party was thrown in the water, with the result that several were drowned. Other wrecks occurred during the early years. Of the first eighteen vessels built, seven suffered disaster in one way and another. The shallow waters of Lake Erie are sometimes difficult of navigation even now; how much more with the little sailing vessels of those early days. Although Joseph Badger preached at times in the Ashtabula settlement in the early years, the first established congregation in the village was of the Methodist Episcopal faith. It was first organized in 1812, and a few years later a log church building was built on "Bunker Hill." They named this building the "Block House." The Reverend Winston was the first pastor. In 1829 this was replaced by a frame church on the river bank. The Baptist Church held meetings as early as 1810, and a Baptist Church was built in 1824, by Amos Fisk. The Presbyterian Church was formally organized in 1821, by Reverend Budger and Reverend Giles H. Cowles, with seven members. They built their first church building in 1836.